Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have never had a Barnes and Noble membership (B&n membership), Ive never purchased any books from them, any magazines, I dont even think Ive ever been into a Barnes & Noble store or to their website, however, today a transaction appeared in my online banking as B&n membership renewal ********, ** for the amount of $25.00. This is a completely unauthorized charge for a membership that I did not agree to nor do I care to have. I dont understand HOW Barnes and Noble acquired my debit card information, but clearly this company is purchasing financial information from online 3rd party retailers without the consumers permission. This is highly illegal and not to mention extremely immoral and unethical! Barnes and Noble should be absolutely ashamed ! Furthermore, why the grammatical error in the transaction? The capital B, and symbol and then lowercase n makes Barnes and Noble appear even more fraudulent. Is this how the company identifies the accounts they fraudulently purchased and are charging without permission?

  Business response

  03/08/2022

  ****** ******** ****** ************ ******** ************* ***                                         ** ********************************************************************** *****
  
  RE:ID ********
  
  Dear ***********************,
  
  We reviewed the complaint submitted by ********************************************** regarding a Barnes & Noble charge.
  
  Upon receipt of ***************************** complaint, we reach out to *********************************** to obtain additional information necessary to locate the membership. We were able to locate a Barnes & Noble Membership which was purchased at our Barnes & Noble store in **************, ** on March 23, 2021.  It appears ************************************ purchased a membership as a gift and since **************************** card was used on the initial purchase, it became linked with the automatic renewal of the membership.
  
  When the Membership was purchased at the point of sale,the PinPad advised the annual Membership fee would be automatically charged to the credit card.  The PinPad contains the following excerpt from our Barnes & Noble Member Program Terms and Conditions.  This paragraph which must be checked in order to accept the Terms and Conditions and for completion of the transaction: application form contains the following paragraph, above the signature line: 
  
  "I agree to the Barnes & Noble Member Program Terms & Conditions.  My membership will be automatically charged annually, 30 days before expiration,to the credit/debit card (except a debit card requiring a PIN) from todays transaction. (If Cash was used, the Membership will not auto-renew.)  I may opt out of auto-renewal any time before the charge, via my ****** account or by calling ************."
  
  As stated in the Terms and Conditions, the Automatic Renewal Membership fees will be billed annually and automatically to the credit or debit card (other than a debit card that always requires a PIN ************************************ provided when she enrolled in Membership or the form of payment we currently have on file for ************************************, in the amount of the current Membership fee,approximately one month prior to your Membership expiration date.  Once a membership is enrolled in automatic renewal, Barnes & Noble will make the attempt to charge the credit card on file each renewal period.  The only way the renewal process can be halted is for ************************************ to contact our customer service or sign in to her ********************** account to cancel the automatic renewal. To view the complete Membership Terms and Conditions, please visit: *************************************************************
  As there were no cancellation requests from either ************************************ or the member, there was an attempt made to renew the membership on February 20,2022.  ******** ***************************** financial institution did not approve the charge.  Please be advised that we have removed the membership from the automatic renewal program so that no further attempts will be made to renew the membership.
  
  If ************************************ requires any further assistance, she may contact me directly at ************** M-F 9am 5:30pm EST.  Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions or concerns.
  
  Respectfully,
  
  
  
  ********* ***** *** ********* ******** ********* ********************** * *********************** **** ************* 
  
  

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